After an outbreak of the Nipah virus claimed two lives in Kerala’s Kozhikode, the state government has declared a three-day holiday on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (September 14, 15, and 16) for educational institutions in the district. The holiday will apply to all institutions from professional colleges to anganwadis and madrasas, District Collector A Geetha said on Wednesday. She said the institutions can arrange online classes for students on the two days, and added that there would be no change in the schedule of university exams.
The University of Calicut had earlier announced that only the examinations that were scheduled to be held in affiliated colleges that fall within the containment zones would be postponed. According to the Controller of Examinations, the varsity will later conduct separate examinations for students in containment zones if they submit a certificate from the health department verifying the same.
On Wednesday, Health Minister Veena George had announced that a 24-year-old health worker in Kozhikode also tested positive for Nipah, taking the total number of confirmed cases to five and active cases to three. The samples of two deceased persons had earlier tested positive for Nipah virus, first confirming the outbreak in Kozhikode district. The two patients had died on August 30 and September 11. Later, two family members of the first patient had also tested positive.
A team from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare arrived in Kozhikode on Thursday and met Collector A Geetha to scope out the situation. The team, led by Dr Himanshu Chauhan of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) under the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), is expected to visit the virus-affected areas later in the day.
As of Thursday, eight panchayats in Kozhikode have been declared containment zones by the district administration. This includes nine wards of Ayancheri panchayat, nine wards of Maruthonkara Panchayat, three wards of Thiruvallur panchayat, eight wards of Kuttiadi panchayat, five wards of Kayakodi panchayat, three wards of Villyapalli, eight wards of Kavilumpara panchayat and one ward of Purameri panchayat.
Nipah is a zoonotic virus that is spread from animals such as infected pigs or bats to humans. It can also be transmitted through contaminated fruits (half-eaten fruits by fruit bats), and even by direct contact with sick persons. Symptoms include fever, headache, fainting and nausea. Some experience choking, stomach pain, vomiting, fatigue and blurred vision. The patient can possibly go into a coma just two days after the symptoms begin. The chance of contracting encephalitis or inflammation of the brain is also high.
